Abstention Project 3: March – The Carb Omissions

“The cardiologist's diet: If it tastes good, spit it out.” - Author unknown

Prelude: March was so named to honour and commemorate Mars, the Roman god of war. This month is my time to get ready for a battle ahead … and there’s nothing sweet about preparing for it … quite literally in the context of this next mission – or “omission” rather.

The main objective, the ultimate one really, is fighting to get back the runner’s form that I used to have. It was my reflection of my Bond-self: the pinnacle of the best physical shape that I feel I’ve ever been in. Not only that, it was part in parcel of becoming my best mentally as well (focus, clarity, calmness, taming anxiety, ability to sleep/being restful). I started skiing more intensively last month to strengthen my legs, loosen my joints, but most importantly, to recondition my lungs and increase their efficiency. Now I’m looking forward to start running again, and to regain that capacity for it. The problem with the month of March for this region is of course the weather being so erratically inclement and schizophrenic outside a lot of the time, and it wavers wildly into many extremes: from giant dumps of snow, harsh regressions to cold snaps some days, followed by thawing that makes icy patches; all are most unfavourable for presenting risks for wiping out and falls, and getting joint damage or worse. I can’t set myself up for any risk of internal bleeding anymore either. Before I could start running a few odd years ago, I did a lot of passive weight loss through other solutions before I even hit the trails and track, as to avoid putting extra stress on my hips and knees and risking injury before I actually started running. I thought I should pull the same trick this time around, hoping that a few extra years of age since last time won’t be a hindrance. There is the Ketogenic Diet which I could have enacted, which is super strict and forbidding for sugar and carb consumption, but that is more ideal for bodybuilders who are bulking up with muscle as well as shredding fat. It is not a great help to anyone trying to build up activity endurance. Some carbohydrates are a definite must for that unfortunately. So, the method I used for this was the Slow-Carb Diet¹. 

Of all reduction diets I tried, the Slow-Carb method worked most splendidly for me to shed off weight. I can’t remember the exact amount of mass I lost, but I did go down two pants sizes within four weeks. It was undeniable that cutting out excess sugar and carbs did the trick, with a strategically placed cheat day* to boast my metabolism to keep the momentum of it going. Cheat days also coincide with my most intense days for cardio exercise and working out with other exercise, so there is some balance struck there. To be crudely accurate, it made excess fat drop away from me like shit from a tall cow. However, the fact that I didn’t/couldn’t continue the Slow-Carb Plan just indicates that it wasn’t so easy for me to stick to and maintain. I found that giving up sugar and starch is an extremely tough action to commit to, especially when trying to be mindful of maintaining a modest food budget. While cleaning out closets back in January, I found my old notes and spreadsheet charts for the introductory fitness plan that set me on the right course before I could take off running that eventually led to me on a course to my personal physical best several years ago. Hence, along with the carb omission challenge, I’m also actively reverting to the Craig Plan to strengthen both muscle and joints. No, not the stupid Jenny Craig diet plan; I’m talking about the Daniel Craig fitness plan. All for the same reasons for when it was first executed several years ago: same height/same age motivators, minimal need for a gym or special equipment for some exercises, and minimal effective dosage advantage (see link: My Celebrity Fitness Role Model). It’s a body form that’s not too bulky, and yet not too lean, plus it just looks like good utilitarian piece of equipment that can endure, take a beating, and spring back and recover well afterward considering its particular count of years, which is really the most practical thing I should be aiming for given my recent history of health/injury issues**.

For myself, excess sugar and carbs is the most consumed, potentially addictive substance, of all my vices, even though I’m not want you’d typically call a “sweets person” compared to others. Sugar (and refined carbohydrates) is far worse than alcohol in some respects in that people of all ages have freer access to sugar and refined carbohydrates than to alcohol, and it is so pervasive and hidden in so much of our processed food that we eat it unwittingly all the time. It is why I needed more time to research and plan (with a greatly revised grocery list) for this challenge than I did with giving up alcohol last month (Abstention Project 2: February – Temperance). In terms of the count of diagnoses, excess sugar is actually the bigger culprit for so many more metabolic diseases than those caused by excess alcohol. 

Mission: A month of eliminating all refined carbohydrates from my dietary regimen. This includes sugars, (white) starches, and high glycemic index carbohydrates, which means not eating food or products containing the following ingredients:

·         All-purpose and other highly refined flours

·         Sugar (white, brown, and all forms of it in between)

·         Honey

·         Maple Syrup

·         Molasses

·         Fructose (which includes most fruits and berries)

·         Dextrose

·         Maltose

·         Sucrose 

·         Malto-dextrose

·         Lactose (Milk)

·         Pasta and noodles

·         Rice and rice flour products

·         Potatoes

·         Beets

·         Corn Products (including popcorn, cornstarch, and corn syrup)

·         Sweetened alcoholic beverages

·         Bacon, ham, and other sugar (dextrose)-cured deli meats

·         Meat Jerky

·         Gravad Lax, Imitation Crab and Lobster, and other sugar-cured fish products (also full of Sorbitol)

·         Processed snack foods, candy, and other confectionary items

·         Pop, kvass, and any other sweetened carbonated drinks (all forms, including diet sodas)

·         Anything else canned and preserved in syrups

·         Artificial sweeteners of all kinds (Aspartame, Sorbitol, etc.) 

Exceptions:

·         The Slow-Carb diet allows for some strategically placed cheat days within the program: 1 out of every seven to be exact, where you can go wild and eat anything you want, including some sugary starchy food. It actually does something to rev up the metabolism, so you burn up even more weight as a bonus. I opt to make my cheat days for Saturday, and March this year is great because it has five Saturdays in it. However, I think I’ll only exploit the privilege for only four Saturdays. I reserve March 10^th (a care-free night to spend with someone special, to celebrate her return home), March 17^th (St. Patrick’s Day, when I’d love to indulge in a pint or two of Guinness), and March 24^th (a dinner theatre night, with the chance to enjoy some birthday cake with my Mom), and of course Easter weekend is just paved with to many sugar-laden landmines to avoid.

·         The only drinkable calories I will be using for this foray is one small glass (150 mL) of unsweetened grapefruit juice, daily in the morning. Its purpose is for stimulating some helpful liver enzymes***.  

Reasons, Facts, and Figures:

·         Fact 1: Data from the dietary history (according to US statistics) has shown that humans have on average eaten 4 lbs of sugar per person per year starting in the 1700s, rising steadily in annual consumption right up until this decade, which averages about 180 lbs per person per year. That’s a 4400% increase between the amounts of 1700 and of today.

·         Fact 2: Drinking one can of pop each day for a year puts an additional 22.68 Kg (50 lbs) of consumed sugar into one’s body annually.

·         Fact 3: If the current trend in sugar/carb consumption continues, the cost for treating diabetes alone could possibly defund all our healthcare dollars by the year 2026 (only eight years from now!). 

·         Fact 4: Once a cancer cell develops, the best way to make that thing grow and spread is to feed it with a diet high in sugar.

Substitution Materials, Activities, and Alternate Behaviours:

·         Swapping out potatoes, rice, pasta, and bread with pulses and legumes (lentils and beans). Yes, there are carbs in them (complex ones though), and the protein and fibre content in them makes using them worthwhile.

·         More vegetables of all kinds, except starch-rich root vegetables.

·         Going nuts - as in real nuts (almonds, pecans, cashews, et al. – all unsalted) for snack food

·         Automate meal plans, and keep meal options limited to a just few simple selections 

·         Cache away all sugar, flour, bread, pastry to the bottom of my deep freeze; knowing that if I ever crave them, there is a lot of extra bother ahead to access them.

·         No drinking my calories (water, tea, black coffee). Drinking alcohol is permissible, but limited to weekends, more wine/less beer)

·         Most awesome tool for this project: I found a greatly discounted vegetable spiralizer to make zoodles (zucchini noodles) to substitute for my grain pasta.

Feedback Mechanisms:

·         The bathroom scale and a measuring tape

·         Looser clothing

·         Jarv Elite™ Bluetooth Smart Band Fitness Tracker

·         The My Fitness Pal App, to gain a fuller idea of carb and sugar content when I’m composing recipes at home. 

·         Improved endurance with my other exercise, and other physical activity

Progress:

·         Mar 1^st – Mar 7^th – So far, the process has been committed to. Getting up to eat breakfast in a timely manner (and one absolutely needs 30 gm of protein for the first meal of the day) was the hardest habit to change. I’ve been so sleep deprived for most of the winter, that forcing myself to commit to the task of preparing breakfast seemed to be a great strain. However, after feeling the punishment that a body goes through without doing it through a drastic drop in blood sugar, I’ve been more diligent to see it through. Headaches occurred; thankfully not to the point of migraine level. The biggest hurdle to overcome is finding food at work that isn’t contra to the plan. The super dump of snow that happened on Mar 5^th thwarted a plan to try a little outdoor running, and ironically, there was too much snow to go skiing. The trails were perfect, but the parking lot to the course I use couldn’t be accessed without a 4x4 vehicle with winter tires. The seething anger I had for that day alone probably amped up my metabolism a great deal. I compensated with my exercise through shoveling and moving the ridiculous amount of accumulated snow.

·         Mar 8^th- Mar 14^th – I kept to the plan in an orthodox manner, eating and drinking nothing with added sugar, or other carbs. My cheat day wasn’t even that much of a stray from the plan. Breakfast had just bacon and some sugar in the coffee, Lunch was Dim Sum in which I avoided the breaded and filled buns, and supper was homemade pizza(s) and some wine. As much as I could have devoured an entire one of the two I made, my appetite was shifted to other non-edible things. I did an amplified body core workout Saturday and then amped up skiing a bit for the day after, reaching a new personal record for skiing since the embolisms (emboli) occurred.

·         Mar 15^th – Mar 21^st – Measurements and fittings on the 15^th showed that I’m down by one pants’ size since the beginning of the month. There was too much thawing happening to allow for skiing. So, the plan switched over to try to run now that I shed some poundage. However, dealing with icy patches is still a treacherous affair, even without slipping and falling. After such a long lapse, my first two trials of 4km (Thursday) and then 6 km (Friday) have been harsh to say the least. My legs have been seizing up rather quickly given that there is no simple flow or continuity (like skiing has) throughout the course when given instances of being forced to react instantly to gear down the pace and breaking momentum while trying to establish better footing when switching surface to surface contact, (ice to concrete to pavement to ice, etc.). It might have been to do easier years ago, but this switching up is especially (and evidently) taxing to stubborn old muscle memory. I was very sore and cramped on St. Patrick’s Day (Mar 17^th). Thankfully it was a cheat day, and thence comes the amazing healing properties of beer. Of all the remedies (aside from proper rehydration) that ever helped me avoid brutal cramping after workouts, beer is the chief among them. It seems to go deep into my muscles and helps to nourish and loosen them up better. The sweet coaxing from my “sleep” coach helped to make me recover better too. Another thing to note about this cheat day was that I really had no strong craving for sugar itself. I thought I might really go wild, but my only carb fixes for that day was an English muffin (refined flour, probably sacrilegious to eat on an Irish holiday), Gruyere cheese shavings in an omelet (mild lactose) with bangers (mild, with dextrose), and a peach with skyr for breakfast (fructose, low lactose), rice noodles for lunch, a couple pieces of leftover pizza from last week, and two beers). I relished more in the fact that there was just an easement of not having to actively review the carb/sugar content of whatever it was that I was eating than being tuned into being really obsessed to consume anything sweet or starchy. Sunday was too beautiful to avoid a run outside; conditions were perfect. My legs were still a bit crampy, but a 5 km commitment was made. I stuck to an automated plan for the rest of the week. My pants are beginning to sag badly and are practically falling off me. I’ll have to either dye my hair and pretend to be a teenager, or tighten up the belts and drawstrings

·         Mar 22^nd – Mar 31^st – Well, the last 10-day stretch is here, sort off. The runs outside have been postponed due to another wallop from a spring snow storm. I’m relegated to use a treadmill now (I hate bloody treadmills, I need to feel myself moving through space), or compensate with more weight training. The one in my building is on the fritz again, and I’ll have to pay admission to use some other one elsewhere. I may just return to skiing if the trails aren’t slushy. I am noticing that I really don’t have a big craving for anything thought of as sugary per se as I had expected. Or it seems at least that this progressive move of being weaned from it has indeed put a waning to such cravings. But I do get hankerings for things like bread and deli meat most strongly out of all the things on the taboo list. My cheat day breakfast was an exquisite plating of English muffins layered with homemade gravad lax****, crowned with poached eggs. Sugar somehow has an inflated potency in taste for me now. When I use sugar in my coffee***** on my cheat days, the regular dosage that I used to do now seems far too intense for sweetness, and I’ve cut back my addition of sugar to my weekend coffee by two thirds. I’m also discovering things that are delights to have as snacks that are fulfilling, even decadent, which don’t necessitate carb intake. Fresh oysters (sea oysters, not prairie oysters!), for example, now that they are in season and cheap(er) and now that I’ve learned how to shuck them properly, kissed with a squeeze of lemon. I’ll have something like that over a bag of chips any day. The temperature has plummeted drastically since the last Wednesday of the month; and is expected to not get above freezing until the first week of April has passed. Running far in the cold has been brutal for the lungs for these final days of the month (-20 wind chill on Thursday afternoon’s trial), especially when they were just starting to become acclimated to warmer temperatures. Friday`s run almost resulted in a serious wipe out on ice that put a cramp in my leg. The last day of the month was a cheat day, and a great day to reunite with faces from my past that have I’ve lapsed too long with seeing. I’m thankful that my old friends are doing well and are looking healthy. Celebrating Easter was a welcome reprieve too.

Violations (Penalties): The penalty is simply just a straight up addition of mileage or exercise I needed to perform to practically rid myself of those extra consumed calories from the accidental, or incidental, intake of refined starch/sugar.

Final Words: The result for the month was a loss of 7.26 kg (16.1 lbs). I don’t believe that it was as much as that last time I did this seven years ago, but I’ll blame some aging for that. I still have a way to go to get into optimal form: by a loss of that mass, plus even a little more. April will begin just as cold and miserable as March is ending. I`ll be extending this challenge into the next month as well, barring a few vacation days early in the month where I`ll be a little more indulgent with feasting to celebrate another reunion of sorts. The worse thing to deal with was the loss of bread and noodles/pasta in my diet. I’m quite dependent on sandwiches it seems. The bonus is though that I realize that I didn’t have a lot of taboo foods around the house to begin with, and whatever I needed to sustain this challenge was minimal. On a scale of 1 to 10 though, I rank it on a high in terms of difficulty it terms of performance and commitment (8.5). I only faltered once, and it was on Good Friday, near the end of the month (I sampled some cinnamon buns). One thing that I experienced through the middle two weeks of the month was an accentuated lack of energy. I consulted with a co-worker who is also an expert on planning these types of reduction diets, and his feedback from what I shared with him was that I`ve been eating too little. Hopefully, I`ll be able to amp up the mileage and strength building throughout next month; the goal being to make a personal best for either the 5 or 10 km race for the Saskatchewan Marathon in May, sticking to the programs to make the River Run Marathon later in the summer. The greater ambition though, not linked with a formal race, is to collect bridge crossings again. This time, Saskatoon has more bridges than ever, and I have yet to map out what exactly that distance is for crossing all seven (eight later this year) pedestrian accessible bridge decks in this city.

Bibliography and Resources:

1.       Ferriss, Timothy. (2010). The 4-Hour Body. New York: Crown Archetype

*- The added advantage of this system with this one cheat day per week is that it helps banish a sense of deprivation. If I have a craving for something, all I have to do to note it on my cheat day list and save it as a possible menu idea for Saturday.

**- Daniel Craig’s own list and history of injuries he sustained just for preparing and filming for the role of James Bond is very extensive, and the timelines he had to recover from them were impressively shorter than one would expect.

***- Grapefruit juice is a notoriously powerful and tricky substance of the world of pharmaceuticals: there is a myriad of medications that contraindicate with it, even with modest consumption. One needs to be careful with it while on prescription medication.

****- Last week, I learned and discovered from my DNA test that a larger component of my genome that I thought was stemmed from heritage in the Britain Isles is actually Scandinavian (25%). The flippant joking remark I made in my last Christmas blog entry in 2017, is actually true! I learned how to make gravid lax long before I knew this about my genome, and perhaps it explains why I have a craving for such stuff once in a while.  

*****- I separate my coffee drinking activity to drinking it just black while I’m at work; using sugar and cream on days when I’m not. A personal crotchet I use to be mindful of separating business from pleasure; not related to any diet plan.

Inflammation Blaster Recipes

I found myself using my day off to do some inventing in my kitchen again; not because I really wanted to. The prolonged period of more idleness due to injury, the extra stress, and being at work too often and eating the cruddy food there is all taking a toll on me. I won't go into any more specifics than that. The resulting poor medical evaluation I got is forcing me to prepare for some dietary and lifestyle changes. I don't want to be relegated to start eating like a tofu-munching hippie, but I'd rather have some compromise and do that with some moderation than be setting myself on a course of being dependant on expensive medications, and then be perhaps afflicted by adverse side-effects from using them.
   
The stuff I made should be useful in countering many types of inflammatory problems in general, not just specifically my issues. Inflammation of one type or another is the major symptom of most chronic diseases. The challenge is to not feel deprived, and to use and substitute with stuff that I already like (or can at least tolerate). Because I was weighing and calculating proportions and quantities, I decided to translate all my activity into the following three recipes for sharing. The MyFitnessPal app on my smartphone did the rest of the calculations for any really anal people who need the specifics about the calories and nutrition, which are also transposed here.

Smokey Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup

4        Red Bell Peppers, halved with cores, seeds, and green stems removed
2 Tbsp        Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Coat the bottom of a heatproof dish with olive oil as well as brush the outer skin of the pepper halves. Place and arrange the halves with the skin side up in the dish and put into the oven on the broil setting. Cook until the waxy skin of the peppers begins to blister and turn black. Remove from the oven, and then put the pepper halves into a ziplock bag. Press out the air, seal the bag, and allow the peppers to cool until lukewarm or cooler. Peel off and discard the blistered and blackened waxy skin away from the flesh of the pepper halves (the back of a knife works well). Once skinned, chop the pepper halves into fine bits. While the peppers are broiling, sauté

1        Small Onion, finely chopped in
1 Tbsp        Extra Virgin Olive Oil, and

Small pinch of salt

 

Once the onion is sautéed until translucent, add it with the peppers into a pot of at least 4 litre capacity* with

1 ¼ Cup        Chicken Stock
200 mL         Tomato Sauce

Heat the mixture to a boil, and then turn the heat down to a simmer. Using an immersion blender, purée the contents until it is a smooth and even consistency. While simmering, use a whisk to blend in

1 Tbsp        Smoked paprika
 
The whisking will also help remove some remaining bits of waxy pepper skin that may have been left on the pepper flesh.

Add salt to taste. Makes about 3 servings. Recommend serving with crackers or croutons.

Nutrition per serving:
Calories: 188; Total Fat (g) 10.9: Saturated (g) 1.7, Polyunsaturated (g) 1.3, Monounsaturated (g) 7.3, Trans (g) 0; Cholesterol (mg) 3.0; Sodium (mg) 844; Potassium (mg) 278.3; Carbs (g) 17.2; Fibre (g): 4.4; Sugar (g) 9.5; Protein (g) 5.2
Daily Percentage Value of: Vitamin A – 25.1%, Vitamin C – 9.7%, Calcium – 1.8%, Iron – 8.5%

 
Cauliflower and Roasted Garlic Dip

Take a whole garlic bulb and slice off the root end, and on the exposed root end drizzle about a teaspoon of Extra Virgin Olive Oil and a small sprinkle of salt. Wrap the bulb in a square of aluminum foil and place on a heatproof dish with the cut end facing upwards. Broil for about 15-20 minutes or until the bulb begins to soften. When cool enough to handle, remove the aluminum foil, and then peel the skins away from the cloves.

Add all the roasted garlic cloves to

400 g        Cooked and mashed Cauliflower, and
½ Cup        Plain Greek Yogurt, with a
Dash of salt and a sprinkle of Cayenne Pepper

Blend together with into a thick consistent purée. Chill before serving with crackers or raw vegetable sticks. Makes about 4 servings.

Nutrition per serving
Calories: 83; Total Fat (g) 2.3; Cholesterol (mg) 1.7; Sodium (mg) 350.8; Potassium (mg)72; Carbs (g) 12.7; Fibre (g) 2.1; Protein (g) 4.3
Daily Percentage Value of: Vitamin A - .5%, Vitamin C – 87.6%, Calcium – 8.4%, Iron – 4.1%

 
Lentil Hummus
 
500 g         Cooked Green Lentils (preferably grown in Saskatchewan)
½ Cup        Chopped Cilantro leaves
2 Tbsp        Tahini (Sesame Seed) paste
15        Pickled Hot Banana Pepper Rings
½ tsp        Ground Cumin
1        finely minced clove of raw garlic
1        Lemon's zest and juice
 
Drain lentils thoroughly, and then add the remaining ingredients in a high sided bowl. Use an immersion blender and whiz the mixture into a thick and even consistency. Use for dipping veggie sticks or crackers. Makes about 4 servings.

Nutrition per serving
Calories: 140; Fat (g) 4.9; Monounsaturated fat (g) 1.7; Cholesterol (mg) 0; Sodium (mg) 86.3; Potassium (mg) 53.1; Carbs (g) 16.2; Fibre (g) 0.6; Sugars (g) 1; Protein (g) 8
Daily Percentage Value of: Vitamin A – 2.7%, Vitamin C – 29.6%, Calcium - 3%, Iron – 4.1%
 
*- More so to keep from splattering the entire kitchen with redness when whizzing with the blender.

Four Grand Covered

Today, I threw myself fully into the commitment of reaching a running goal. It was perhaps a bit crazy to do since only a few days ago I could barely walk between my bedroom and the kitchen, due to extreme back pain. To make the recovery process even worse that day was having the disruption of some workers drilling and banging around, installing fiber optics lines in the building, disallowing me any rest. There was an unsettling pop between my shoulder blades and neck when the tension finally released itself. Thankfully, I smartened up enough physically today to go through with this. It was imperative that I did it today, since I hate breaking promises to myself, and for the fact that the water fountains and facilities along the trails will be shut down after the Labour Day long weekend.

I needed to take a 17 kilometer route to complete this goal. It's not the length of these runs that intimidate me. Physically, there isn't much difference in doing a longer run than a shorter one except being mindful to load up better with electrolytes, carbs, and to hydrate frequently. What the challenging barriers are for me to face while doing these long runs alone are the psychological ones. It's like going to war. It's dealing with the emotional baggage that begins to weigh me down. Things surrounding insecurities, fears, lack of confidence, self-doubt: they appear after eight kilometers or so, right about the time when the "runners' high" kicks in.

It's hard to explain what I go through during these long hauls. Throughout those moments alone on the trail, and during those minutes that I start pressing my body to persist moving on through the extra shock and physical aching and strain, there is triggered past memories that are laden with visceral feelings that were either really negative or traumatic experiences for me to deal with. Frustration about such problems turns into full on outrage for me to tackle and confront. I get faster and more powerful when these upsets enter my mind, adrenaline perhaps. The imagery I get provoked into thinking on what would be done to those sources and forces, my past and present enemies and adversaries, and the scenes of vengeance toward them get intense: imaginings of things done that would make Hannibal Lecter look like the Easter Bunny in comparison*. I force myself to keep on going to allow this anger to pass, and then I slip into a phase of being incredibly morose; realizing long after reflecting on this stuff about the right way of how I should or could have dealt with those problematic beings, instead of getting overwhelmed with all the issues of their drama, impudence, and stupidity. The morosity eventually passes, and then I begin to think about more positive stuff; what I want to approach when I finish this ordeal: be it concrete or abstract; simple things like joining my friend for coffee, my dog greeting me when I come through the door, the curiosities I want to read about and eventually research. Even if I didn't do my best after it's done, I get the satisfaction of knowing that I managed to somehow tough it out, and then I remind myself that I still have some resilience left in me.

I set the goal of completing 4000 kilometers of running before the end of this month, and I achieved it. Injuries didn't stop me, goofy schedules didn't deter me, and the threat of cancer a few years ago didn't dissuade me from starting this commitment to get fitter in the first place. So, I'm pressing on to achieve 5000 kilometers now: the highest ranking on Nike's run recording app. I'm taking this feat of persistence and resilience, and I'm going to apply it to serve as momentum for other meaningful changes I need to make in the months ahead.

* - Minus the eating of people.

Holy Lord T'underin' Jumpin' Jehovah!. . . Too Many Rollicking Frolickers, My Son!

I came close to covering a half-marathon distance in training today, just three kilometers shy of it. I did OK for the run itself, however the decision to do it was rather spontaneous, and I failed to have a sufficient carb and mineral intake to prepare for such a feat. Afterward, I was suffering with a bad migraine for much of the afternoon and early evening, either because of extremely low blood sugar or screwy blood pressure due to electrolyte depletion. It's finally starting to settle; just in time too, since my walls are starting to shake from the Newfie sea shanties blaring from the concert grandstand tonight*. Either the Ibuprofin or the bowl of salty popcorn I'm having for my late supper is making the experience tolerable. They are playing quite well actually. Otherwise, I probably wouldn't have enough wits to stand the commotion of a 5000 person 'sociable'. Sadly, I can't enjoy a beer while listening to it right now; a shot of pickle juice will have to do (helps prevent lactic acid build up/cramping . . . it works instantly too).

The Newfoundlanders playing down the block, the brief visit with my relatives visiting from Victoria, the more extreme of the distance I ran today, and re-reading a comment in a past entry about the scale of our nation made me put all my accumulated mileage into perspective with respect to our geography. I calculated that the accumulated kilometers from all my recorded runs is a bit shy of the distance between St. John's, NFLD and Thunder Bay, Ontario. If I recall correctly, it's just about the same distance Terry Fox made it to before his demise from cancer taking the rest of him. It's a depressing realization; I hope doesn't serve as a harbinger for some sort of impending disaster. So, I'll track my progress starting from Victoria instead. I'm reckoning that by following the Trans-Canada, and then down highway 17 through Ontario, that my current placement would be somewhere between/around Sudbury and North Bay**. That's a better thought to have, since I know someone lovely who lives around North Bay. I should have something special in store for me like a celebration if or when I achieve the kilometer number what covers the distance from between Tofino, BC to St. John's: basically the breadth of the nation. I figure that would be around another 2,800 kilometers left for me to do.

There's just one more night of the left before they start packing up Sunday. I hope Saturday night passes without getting as crazy as all the other years.

*- Great Big Sea is playing tonight at the Ex.
**- The roads through the Shield get a little more bendy and hence makes my estimates less accurate.

The River Run Classic 2013: 10 km Results

The Night Before: I made Spaghetti alla Vongole for supper, fell asleep around midnight. It was fitful. I was awoken not by ambient noise, but by the stench of a smelly old skunk waddling somewhere around the neighbourhood close to my place. The stink remained in the air a long time after I shut the windows.

Wake up/Breakfast on Day of Race: Alarm set at 6:00, hit snooze once. Breakfast was a plain white bagel, with almond butter, and a banana.

Ten kilometer race start time: 7:30 AM, arrived 20 minutes early. Biked there, and grateful for the valet station for cycles.

Weather Conditions: It was only 7 degrees when I arrived there before the start, and it deceived me in thinking that I was hydrated enough. The temperature rose rapidly after 7:00 AM.

Start Position: I was probably somewhere between the 40th and 50th person to cross the starting line.

The Goal: To try to beat my time from the Saskatchewan Marathon 10 km race from earlier this year. It would be great if I could put my time under one hour.

Most Challenging Part of the Race: Getting a strained knee after the sixth kilometer, it became tough to just charge up the inclined stretches of roadway beneath the University and Broadway bridges coming back to the timing gate. I would have done better had it not been for that stupid knee.

Things I'm Most Pleased About:  I met my goals, 3 minutes and 49 seconds under an hour, and beat my time from the Saskatchewan Marathon 10 km race by 11 minutes and 44 seconds. Although it didn't feel like it during the last three kilometers, the numbers show that I'm improving. At least I wasn't last in my age/sex division.

Final Results: 



 

• Time:  56:11
• Rank: 83rd out of 166 racers, just within the upper 50 % 
• Average Pace: 5'38"/km
• Average Heart Rate: no reading taken
• Place in my Age/Sex Division:  9/10   

My reward(s): Finally taking a road trip out of town, and finally getting to test my car's performance on the highway. Getting to reunite with an old friend. Seeing how happy Ella became when visiting her Grandma and Grandpa. An afternoon nap, and having a beer with my Dad.
 

Decision Deadline, The Body Politic, New Wheels

It has been a very busy week, and I'm glad that it's over. I'm outside tonight, enjoying this magnificent full moon, having a midnight snack of some piquant leftover Moroccan beef tagine recipe I was experimenting with, and listening to the loud crowds exiting Prairieland Park from the Top of the Hops venue. I'm regretful that I couldn't go this year, and I was reminiscing about the past ones I went to with my cousins, whom I'm beginning to miss.

Sitting down to write this has been my only moment of leisure throughout this week. Today, I feel like I'm back to normal physically, but I claim this reluctantly, as not to jinx myself with some other impending upset. I felt and thought the same thing earlier last week, and on that same day of that conclusion I ended up acquiring and suffering perhaps the worst case of food poisoning I ever had in my life. It resulted in the most unwelcome way to have a ten pound drop in weight overnight (I'll spare the graphic details). I've been carless for a long while, and after running short of food and supplies; toting full backpack loads of groceries (up to an extra 20 kg in weight) on long bike trips was beginning to take a toll on my knees as well through that week, so that has been no help either. It has been so long since I've felt or functioned anywhere close to normal, I suppose I've become estranged for so long from what "normal" feels like. It goes without saying that given the circumstances, the commitment to training has faltered badly. I ran three times this week, and my heart rate and breathing were much better.

In a previous entry I gave myself until May 19th to decide as to whether or not to hold my race slot in the Saskatchewan Marathon. The torment I was feeling throughout that week was swaying me to consider the decline option, but ultimately I decided to hold on to it and participate. I definitely won't be breaking records: my goals are simply to start and finish the thing in one piece. To endure this 10 km race, in the current shape I'm in, I expect that I'd have to hold my pace between 7'00" and 7'30" per kilometer. That's somewhat abysmal in my mind, but pushing harder would only wreck me for the rest of the year. I wish my body could govern itself better than it seems to be doing now.

If the human body's functions were controlled by something analogous in terms of a political system it sure as hell would not be a democracy. The body isn't controlled by the some ruling majority of strong healthy organs and tissues that you do have functioning: rather it is controlled and corrupted by the few minor (or just one) tissue(s) that aren't working well. It's always being dictated and limited by the worst of what you have going on, like a banana republic dictatorship. If that isn't enough, there are always foreign terrorist sleeper cell networks . . . most of which are literally single cells, that are trying to take over, like cancer, bacteria, parasitic protozoa, fungi, yeast, viruses, and other such gollywobs that don't even weigh a single gram when numbered in the millions, waiting to strike and dominate when conditions are right. You can bring yourself to your best through training, but your bodily empire can still be conquered by an invasion of something as simple as flu or salmonella (what I suspect I was afflicted with previously).

I finally found a vehicle last Sunday. Its older than I wanted it to be, but it's within budget, has been well maintained, and of a reliable make and model. It has more power, and more luxury options, than my last one. It's a pimpin' machine (for me anyway); so far the best vehicle I've had yet. Its colour is a deeper, darker, more intense tone of red than that of my last car: somewhere between that of a sophisticated oxblood pottery glaze, and a sluttier-looking shade of cherry lipstick: not too low-key, and yet not too gaudy and ostentatious, just the right mixture of the sacred and profane . . . I like that! I wasn't able to get my hands on it until two days ago, and I'm still exploring the bells and whistles. It's good enough for me as one who is driving a car on a more and more infrequent basis.

First Outdoor Run of Spring, Sports Psych Workshop

I cycled over 14 kilometers yesterday, and woke this morning without too much tension and cramping today. So, I gave myself permission to try running again. Today was the first run outside I had since I was injured.

Goals/Objectives:

1. To head out and return home without re-injuring myself
2. To at least break a good working sweat
3. Target: to make it to the Bessborough and back on the Meewasin Trail
4. To burn over 500 calories
5. To cover 5 km of distance, under 45 minutes (realistic given my degree of injury)
6. To keep my heart rate under 170 BPM
7. To reactivate my "muscle memory" in my legs after such a long lapse

Challenges/Discoveries:

I expected that walking was going to be more prevalent than running for today. What I discovered that was even more debilitated than my foot and leg was my breathing. I still have very under-trained lungs, that are filled with a winter's worth of stagnancy. My breathing was impaired even more due to the fact that there still is a high degree of tension in my shoulders, back, and ribs. It didn't take long to stress my heart enough to get up to 170 BPM. The reason to keep the rate below that level is to avoid the chance of serious lactic acid build up. which would consequently and adversely affect my calves and foot. This was a back-to-square-one feel out session; primarily to jar my legs and lungs back into regaining their memory for this sort of rigour.

Today's Results:

• Made it to the Bess and back; minimal aching, and most importantly, no limping
• 8'44"/km average pace
• Calories burned: 729
• Average heart rate: 154 BPM
• Time: 44:40

Future Goals/Decisions:

• To bring 5 km pace back to 30 minutes or less by May 19th
• To build up a range of 8 km or more of steady running by May 19th
• To set my operational maximum heart rate at 170 BPM by May 19th
• To regain medical clearance, or to avoid re-injury by May 19th
• If all these criteria are met by May 19th, I will retain my registration for my spot in the Saskatchewan Marathon

Thankful for:

• Finally having a beautiful sunny day to try all this out
• The inspiration I got from the duathelon I watched yesterday
• The valuable bits of info from the SRRA workshop
• Seeing the ladies on the trail wearing shorts, and Lulu Lemon athletic wear again. Who ever invented this stuff deserves to be awarded the Order of Canada medal

The SRRA Sports Psychology Workshop:

Yesterday's SRRA (Saskatoon Road Runners' Association) workshop was about sports psychology. Typically, I find the act of running more mental than physically: except for this year, now that I'm overcoming being injury stricken. It was important for me to attend it because it's impossible to reacquaint my body to the activity again without having a congruent mindset as well.

There was a review about goal-setting, cool. However, I listened a little more attentively to the process of guided imagery: using some sort of image or scene to help you focus. There was encouragement to allow ourselves to imagine becoming something fast and powerful during the process of running a race, like being an unstoppable train, or a cheetah perhaps. I tend to think of things of the natural world when I willingly bring to mind things that are the extremes of being fast, agile, and focused. My inspiration comes from the birds of prey, despite the fact that their movement doesn't even involve running.

Here's one ideal example of creative imagery. The Peregrine Falcon: nature's version of a heat-seeking missile. It's a very sleek and balanced looking bird. Air Forces of the world actually hire ornithologists to study the flight patterns of these creatures in depth with hopes to use the findings to improve aerial combat tactics. When I think about an animal that symbolizes fast, I'll opt for a falcon over fast terrestrial animals, like a horse or cheetah, every time.


However, more realistically, if there was an even more fitting bird-of-prey anima figure that actually did represent me as a runner now, it would probably be the Grey Owl, in both appearance and performance, compared to a falcon. It's the much more portly of the two species, much slower, with a huge fat fluffy grey head mounted on a stockier body. Not so intensely focused looking, like the falcon, but more inquisitive. It's more like nature's version of a stealth drone.

I'm hoping that my progress in going from owl to falcon won't take too long. May 19th is the date set to examine all this again, and to make that critical decision.

Physio Stuff

Like dealing with the repercussions of this wretched winter, trying to cope with these injuries and their consequences with constantly expressing bitter complaint does nothing productive, nor is it conducive, to improving the matter. So, after this entry, I'm going to put some effort into toning all that down. Venting these frustrations only reflects my lack of patience. I just want desperately to move on forward with something more progressive, life-affirming, and positive. I should be concentrating on turning this downtime into something I could use for my advantage.

I can honestly say that the massage treatment yesterday was one of the most excruciating experiences I ever had in my life. And unfortunately, it isn't the only one I'll have to have. It basically involves getting old muscle and scar tissues teased and ripped apart, so stuff can heal back together normally again. In essence, it re-stationed me back to square one, as it rendered me cramped up and limping again, so there is no chance in resuming training this week. However, in it was the bitter lesson of how poorly I've been taking care of myself, in that I'm not getting adequate rest. After that torment, it made me even more determined to stop further allowing my body to become a busted up piece of junk.

Today, after some recommended physiotherapy exercises, I'm going to try to throw my mind into learning some of the long list of techy stuff that I've been curious about, within those moments when I'm not too distracted by pain.

Here is a video of one of the things I am to do. I figured that I'd share it, as it might be beneficial for my other friends who are fellow runners, and cohorts who I know are on their feet all day.

The Boston Synchronicity, Baby Turns Seven

I think I'm about 90% healed; still walking with a slight limp. After a couple extra days of healing time, I'll have an indoor trial around the track to see how much my foot can handle the rigours of a casual jog, and then amp it up to a harder run if it's tolerable; all within half an hour to start. The adage of "No pain, no gain!", doesn't apply for proper training in running. The adage of "Once there's pain, settle your ass down", does apply if one ever hopes to temper oneself enough to last through at least 10 kilometres: what I consider as the marginal point between the end of being a casual runner, and the beginning of being a long distance runner.

It's kind of strange to introduce the subject of long distance running in light of what happened yesterday at the Boston Marathon. Strange, in regards to the way in which the convergence of things happened that I was involved with yesterday, just before I found out what happened there. I had the day off, and given that I finally felt free of being under the influence of pain medication, I decided to at least catch up on my correspondence, as I relaxed to watch a movie for the afternoon. The movie I selected was The Hurt Locker, a movie about everything bomb related, from diffusion, to their degree of destruction, to the stress imposed on those dealing with them. At the same time, I was messing around online, dealing with changing some details with my registration at the Saskatchewan Marathon. Then, just as I was closing that matter up, I received the newsflash on the CBC app on my phone about the explosions at the Boston Marathon. This experience of noticing these three normally independent things in the news and media related to marathons and/or bombings, all at the same time, was just too much of an eerie coincidence for me to ignore. I'm not superstitious, nor do I believe in the supernatural, but that realization at that moment made my hair stand on end. I hope the event series of cause and effect of the result of extra policing and reprisals doesn't become too much more dramatic or tragic than that.


She finally found the first patch of grass large and dry enough
 to roll on today. The best way to start a new year of life.

It just dawned on me that my dog turns seven years old today. Time sure does fly. Given that I'm more mobile, we'll celebrate it with a trip to the dog park, finding new chew bone for her, a few head and belly rubs, and a couple beers for me, now that I don't have to worry about more goofy side effects. It will be at least a day of contentment, and being thankful and happy that we at least live in a place where people aren't so crazily driven with the intent to harm others with indiscriminant mass destruction.

Slow Thaw, Vehicle Shopping

It's snowing again today. . .blargh!  I'm not posting any more entries after this one about this ugly, freakish season, nor shall I bemoan the fact any longer that there is such a ridiculous amount of snow that has yet to thaw away, bringing on a subsequent heightened flood risk. If we have snow around here on April 20th, we will then be heading into a full six months, exactly half a year, of winter. Any further complaining about the weather is just a waste of time and energy; the point has been made: Mother Nature just really doesn't give a shit. Even the non-humans are revoltingly depressed. I came home last Thursday night, and began to walk the dog, and I heard an enormous flock of migrating geese returning; creating an uproar of honking and squabbling near the river a couple of blocks from me. It was like there was aggression and desperation in their tones; landing and crowding, and fighting for space around the only bit of open water they've probably found at this latitude on their course northward, when instinct is telling them that all this amount of extra ice and snow should definitely not be here. They probably were nagging and bickering at each other; trying to find the culprit leader in the group responsible for this gross "navigation error".




My Dad watching the last of the ice shacks being hauled
away for the season's end 

The really depressing ass-kick into reality about how late spring will arrive came to me on Easter weekend. Some of Good Friday was spent at the closest southern lake to my childhood home, to try out some ice fishing. I didn't have any great expectations to catch many fish (which was good, because none were caught). I went more to inspect the conditions of the lake, to note and estimate when off shore casting could be done from the marina in late spring, where my luck is the best. As it is was, the auger was sank down right to the shaft head on the engine, a full 125 centimeters (a little over four feet) before we bit into water. That's the thickest I've ever seen it for this time of the year. This was about 300 metres from the closest point from the shore. Even with a radical meltdown, I realistically don't expect to be able to come back there, to cast off of the marina, until the first week of June at the earliest.

Currently, I'm reflecting about last year at this time. Within the first week of April, I was running outside on a regular basis, in shorts, and even shirtless, and the streets were all clear for cycling to work. I'm especially bitter about not having ideal conditions for cycling.* Now, at the same time of the month, there are still ice ruts as deep as 20 cm along some neglected and unkempt backstreets, and pot holes that could easily snap off wheels from axles and wreck suspensions while trying to turn out of them. I'm bothered even more that I'm also now pressed into the sordid business of finding another vehicle. Listening to my car bottoming out now, and having its undercarriage scraped off and filed away by rock hard ice while trapped in ruts doesn't inspire me to run out and find another car if there is even one more day of this hazard around.

Generally, I hate shopping for vehicles, or for any other big ticket items where financing plans are necessary. It becomes a stressful responsibility; and I make it a point of not suffering from bull-shitters; so being exposed to so many at once in wheeling and dealing (more like dickering and bickering) with salesmen/private sellers is not in anyway a pleasurable pastime for me. This snowy day, with nothing else to do, pretty much forces me to spend some of the day doing research for one; and I just have no heart to do it right now. I'll never get a new one (unless I won it in a charity raffle or lottery**), the degree of depreciation makes it illogical and impractical. Such a purchase really taxes the over-analytical side of me. I don't make such a big deal about making a vehicle a big part of my personal identity. I'm just realistic and practical. Sure, I have some standards for quality, but I'm not some idiotic gearhead either: the kind who thinks that driving an overpowered or luxury vehicle will somehow automatically make him cool, powerful, or will magically add a few extra inches to his cock***. I choose plain-Jane vehicles more so because I'm not deluding myself away from the fact that nothing around this country and climate will stay pretty, and whatever I get has to be mechanically tough enough to withstand the worst (winter) driving conditions that are thrown at it.

There are enough different cars out there that do appeal to me though that I would like to experience driving in my lifetime. Some aren't considered the best in their particular class, or practical for this region, but I don't care. These are the ones, for now, that I like and my weird reasons for liking them.

• Sport Coupe: Audi (A series) or BMW Z4 - Ahhh, German engineering. . . Vorsprung durch Technik. It's a toss up between the two for me. 
  
• Classics: MGB - This one appeals to the romantic in me. It would be the car to drive a girlfriend to a do picnic in the country or something. Just to be special, my MGB be authentically British, and would have the right-hand steering on it, all the better to cruise and cuddle at the same time.
  
• Compact: Mini Cooper - I loved this little car ever since I saw it perform in The Italian Job. It also appeals to my inner Mr. Bean. It's definitely a vehicle to have if I ever wanted to prove to everyone that I was having a mid-life crisis.
  
• Sedan: Volvo s60 - I have great respect for the Swedes. It's because they are fellow northern climate dwellers who would know how to build a car that could endure bitterly cold weather. That, plus their reputation for rigorous safety standards for all their models. The only time I ever saw a wrecked Volvo was when I watched a documentary about military vehicles on TV, and one was purposely drove over, and crushed by a 60 tonne Swedish Army Leopard tank, to demonstrate the power of the tank. Even then, the damage that was inflicted on the Volvo wasn't as bad as I thought it could have been. I don't need a luxury sedan, but if I ever wanted one that could take the punishment from this region, and not depreciate so rapidly in value, this is what I'd have.
  
• SUV: Toyota Landrover (old school) This to me says "tough, rugged, and cheeky" It looks like it could plow through a herd of gnus in Africa, or burn across the worst of the Australian outback. I look at it and it screams out to me: "Adventure!" It would be a fun little summer vehicle to have (if summer ever friggin' comes here, that is).
  
• Mini Van: VW - I suppose it's because there is this inner hippie that dwells within me. The one below is my preferred model. However, if this winter continues making this place feel like the ice planet Hoth, it may more be practical to use the one below that.
  

 

*-Used the stationary bike at the Field House today. It's the like the same sort of hell as using a treadmill: moving around yet going nowhere. . . like the bloody snow around here.
** - Even then, I'd most likely swap it for a cash prize, or sell it outright, and buy a quality used car and re-invest the rest of the remaining money that otherwise would have been wasted on depreciation.
***- Sadly, I've seen and known too many of these dummies. Speeding around in a muscle car or mega-truck sure didn't/doesn't help them get any smarter either. Such a type of vehicle can indeed be personality magnifiers, but 9 times out of 10 it only exposes just how much of an asshole the driver really is.

Starting 2013

I found a very appropriate movie I just watched recently which I'd recommend to everyone during this season, the transitioning of years. It is called In Time, starring Amanda Seyfried and Justin Timberlake. It's a science fiction movie with a unique, yet morbidly fascinating, premise: humans have been genetically altered/evolved to exist in a completely time-based social economy, making the saying "time is money" much less abstract. People in this society stop physiologically aging at the age of twenty-five, however there is a catch. Monetary currency has been entirely eliminated, and people are biochemically programmed with a countdown clock, where the time of their chronological lifespan can be increased or decreased, giving one a variable "expiry date". When the countdown has timed down to all zeros in a person, all of their metabolic functions cease entirely, and they simply die (time out). All transactions for goods, services, and living essentials are then made by directly exchanging units of time on and off one's lifespan. Time zones in this story don't mean global hourly differences, but rather they're gated communities where the elite classes (those who have banked centuries/millennia of longevity) are segregated away from those living in the time impoverished ghettos (those who literally live day to day on borrowed time). It makes one think a little more seriously about how we are exchanging, or wasting, our time in our life, and perhaps it prompted me greatly to give more thought about what I want to see happen for this new year.

What are my resolutions and ambitions? I haven't really thought them through with any great exacting detail, but the starting outline of them is as such:

• This year's general theme: Skills diversification, and daring to be different.
• Muses/Hacks/Motivators/Mnemonics/Reminders/Rationales:
• This is the first time since 1987, that all of the digits in the year number have been all different from each other
• "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results" - Albert Einstein

• Method: Do many new and exciting things throughout the year that challenge and build on all my "intelligences"
• The intelligences are:
• Linguistic
• Mathematical
• Visual
• Physical
• Musical
• Emotional
• Social
• Environmental
• Spiritual
• Practical
• Mnemonic Affirmation: (L)et (M)y (V)arious (P)ositive (M)indful (E)ndeavors (S)erve (E)veryone (S)ensibly and (P)ractically

 

• The 13 books I want to read (re-read*) for 2013
1. The Four Hour Work Week* - Timothy Ferriss
2. The $100 Start Up - Chris Guillebeau
3. What the Dog Saw - Malcolm Gladwell
4. Guns, Germs, and Steel* - Jared Diamond
5. Changeology - John C. Norcross
6. Eat to Live - Joel Fuhrman, M.D.
7. People Are Idiots, and I Can Prove It* - Larry Winget
8. The Writer's Idea Book - Jack Heffron
9. The Art of Nonconformity - Chris Guillebeau
10. The Manual of the Warrior of Light - Paulo Coelho
11. The Screwtape Letters - C.S. Lewis
12. Hyperspace - Michio Kaku
13. Embracing the Wide Sky - Daniel Tammet

• Starting Date to Commit to a Plan: January 6th, 2013
• Rationale/Reminder:
• Majorly ambitious changes for a whole year can't be organized within a single day, and doing so turns out to be just a rash and empty effort. It's probably why so many people fail at committing to their resolutions in the first place. I've tried planning some within one day before; it just doesn't work. I'll need more than just today for plan and orchestrate things, and to make feasible timelines for the year. Hopefully five planning days will be enough.
• These first five days should be sufficient to start cleaning and organizing my space, and for ridding some of the impediments out of my place without it turning into a wasteful purge. e.g. enough time to eat the foods out of my fridge that are contra to my diet plan (instead of just throwing them out).
• I'll have this coming weekend off to do a last proper binge before things get serious
• January 6th starts on a Sunday, which makes it easier to formulate a week by week training plan
• On January 6th, there will be 360 days remaining of 2013. A good time to affect things to watch them come full circle.

• The 13 things I want to do on this first day of 2013:
• Go skiing with my friend
• Make a new batch of beer
• Nap
• Watch a Blu-Ray (Prometheus)
• Take Ella to the dog park
• Try a new recipe
• Call my family
• Start a new budget for my projects
• Clean out and organize office closet (and fitness equipment)
• Re-tune my guitar, and learn a few new chords
• Collect some books to sell
• Purge old files on hard drive
• Begin brainstorming stuff and collecting ideas for the next four days

The 2012 Wrap Up, The Year Ahead

The Christmas holiday is ending with this Boxing Day evening with a frigidly cold, -40 degree windchill outside. I've cocooned myself inside since I returned from visiting my family. The flickering flames in my fireplace tonight have kept me in a hypnotic trance for too long now it seems, and I had to reboot my mind again with some writing. I'm actually glad that it is this cold: all the more to dissuade me from getting involved in the Boxing Day sales hype and madness happening earlier today. I had only enough energy to drive back from visiting my folks, and that was it. All the excess feasting has rendered me a bit sluggish. I don't just feel like I ate like a pig; I feel like some python that just swallowed a whole pig that ate like a pig.

I'm realizing that the year is quickly winding down; I'm opting not to waste too much time reflecting on it as I did like last year. Successes were achieved, but not really significantly glorious ones; there weren't any hugely glaring, abysmal failures though either (on my part of the grand scheme of things). My highlights were generally pretty much the personal bests I have recorded already in previous entries regarding my fitness goals. My low points were my failure to find the right mix of time/energy and dedication to follow through with my learning/career enhancement challenges, and not getting to build a better network of more positive and like-minded people. For the past couple of beginnings of the new year, I've been stricken with bad luck in the realm of health problems. I hope the lack of them now will be a signal for a better year for me coming ahead.

For the year ahead, the focus will be on continuing to implement efficiency, and to pick up on those things that I started learning, but lost track of midway through last fall. The key elements are:

• trying to limiting it more to things that accord with the 80/20 principle (learning/mastering the 20% of the things that control 80% of the whole system I'm learning, or operating with)
• being more mindful to formulate things as a recipe: finding and stationing the right set of tools, establish the variables, and then commit to procedure(s)
• using creative shortcuts with mnemonics
• meta-learning (un-learning, and then re-learning how to learn), and a low-info diet (there is too much useless stuff in the junk drawer of my brain as it is): to break bad habits and acquire better ones
• having sounder worse case scenario strategies/contingency plans when it comes to taking bigger risks

The things I want to accomplish in 2013* are:

• Completing a full-marathon distance (either through training or racing)
• Keeping on top of staying fit for it
• Getting away for an actual vacation for once
• To implement the stuff I've been studying into a major career shift
• Catching up on those things I didn't get to do/complete last year

Special thanks to authors Tim Ferriss, and David Allen, and especially my friend MJ who has been so supportive so far in with my current life improvements and ambitions. I'll be sticking close to all of you for your advice, tips and suggestions to help guide me through 2013.

Cheers to all of you!

*-Sorry. Ambitions in regards to matters of money, love/sex/relationships, and spirituality are matters too private for me to mention here.